When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, the trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Exodus 20:18-19

When God drives up at a gathering he can arrive in whatever car he chooses. When God decides to show us a small piece of Who he is, he gets to decide the terms. If he wants to come with thunder and lightning, that is his choice. If he wants to come with some trumpet and fanfare… he can do it! If he wants to be in a still, small voice, the whisper of a child or the guise of a beggar: any of these are options for God. When God delivers a message, he can add whatever packaging he wants to add and it reinforces rather than invalidates the message. John the Baptist’s packaging was different than the Magi. The writing on the wall was different than the plagues in Egypt. Which was right and which was “unbiblical”? Who of us gets to dictate to God how he may or may not manifest his presence? We get so overly righteous assessing whether something was or was not God that we throw the baby out with the bath water. If there is some harmful, clearly devious evidence of a spiritual world that is not God, then weigh it, judge it and avoid it. But if God is wrapping his word in a tangible expression of his presence, don’t stay at a distance.

In the past year we saw God’s presence in ways that were, for us at least, unusual. (At least they start off as unusual.) Someone becomes aware of angels in a room so that what we have sung for decades—“and I know that there are angels all around” —takes on a whole new meaning. Another actually sees angels. What appears to be a fine gold dust appears on one’s face, hands, or clothing. A colleague was moving house and opened the trunk of her car to see a pile of “gold dust”—she called others over to witness it and to take a photo. The laptop on which I am typing was brand new with a mat black finish: now only the topside has a fine spray of gold dust, and it has been that way since April when I was at a conference at Bethel Church in Redding, CA, sitting in the lobby doing emails… when I closed my laptop I noticed the gold. Many have verified that they see it too.

The people said, “This is out of our comfort zone!” and Moses said:

Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning. Exodus 20:20

Let’s remember the context. God had just delivered The 10 Commandments. The people desperately needed an experience of the supernatural presence of God if they were to comprehend and walk out the heart of these weighty commandments. Instead of saying, “Give us more of your presence or we can never handle these commandments” they said, “We don’t want to deal with the spooky stuff that is outside our comfort zone.”  Yet the manifestation of God’s presence is often proportional to the assignment at hand. God doesn’t dish out jobs without offering to be present in whatever way fits the situation, from trumpets to silence. Don’t run from the smoke and lightning and thunder and trumpets when they may be just what you need to carry out the instruction of God.

The people remained at a distance while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. Exodus 20:21

If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed your children. Psalm 73:15

Asaph was a writer of popular songs, a lyricist in his day. Just because he was a popular religious artist didn’t mean that he escaped the bad day syndrome. He was in a funk, and he points out why. “For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” You might have lost your job while someone you know was promoted. You might be taking steps of faith while others are looking after themselves, and they seem to be doing better financially. You may be hemmed in by limits, while others have no limits. What do you do? What do you say? Much has been said about the pivotal verse in this psalm, which is verse 17: “till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.” What I want us to see this time is the key principle that allowed Asaph to even see this truth. It has to do with what he allowed to come out of his mouth.

You may say, ‘I am just being honest… I am not in a funk.’ Being honest is good, but there is a difference between being honest and speaking words that betray you, others, and the next generation.

God is under no obligation to woo me out of a funk. I also have some responsibility. We have, in particular, a responsibility to avoid recession speak. Grumbling is the cement that keeps the stones of discontent locked in our foundations. Praise is the mortar that holds the bricks of the future together.

If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed your children. Psalm 73:15

Application

• What are you allowing to come out of your mouth?
• If you are struggling with what wants to come out of your mouth, have you checked your filter to see if it is still saying “God is good, all the time”?
• Where are you looking for perspective: the media, or God?

“For we are Christ’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which he prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

I mentioned before that ‘We will not do what we are made to do until we know what has been done for us to make us who we are.’ Once we have soaked in the grace of God then we are ready to do the work of God.

What is the work of God? Rather than choose the standard list from the gospels—heal the sick, set the captives free, preach the kingdom, disciple nations—let’s look at some of the items that follow in Ephesians.

• Remembering. You were separated, and what that separation meant, “without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus…” Our problem is that we forget, so we take things for granted, and we get into ruts. Remembering keeps us on the trajectory of freedom and keeps us from the dullness of fake familiarity. Remember the miracles
• Living at peace with the rest of the Body of Christ. “His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace…” We don’t make ourselves greater by comparison, but by unity.
• Being sons and daughters, “members of God’s household” – we do our best work when we feel part of the family.
• Staying grounded. “…built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself the chief cornerstone…as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.” The gifts to the Church—apostles and prophets—extend beyond one household to cities and nations at large. Local churches, congregations, small groups, house churches etc. will do better when connected to the foundation.
• Hosting the Holy Spirit. “to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” This is an awesome “work” – to individually and collectively be the new place where the Almighty God dwells.
• Displaying the billboard. “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm.” God wants us to be a boldfaced declaration, a neon-lights announcement of his wisdom and mysteries.
• Approaching God with freedom and confidence. “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
• Being rooted and established in love. “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love…grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”

These things may not sound like work to you. There is, to be sure, lots of other instruction in Scripture about what we are to do for work. If we start with this list we will work with God rather than for God. Our view of God will be as Father, not a hard task master. And the result will be exponential output.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…”

There is exponential output when we work form a place of secure identity.

“and we call upon you, brethren, to abound still more, and to study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands.” 1 Thessalonians 4:10-11 Young’s Literal Translation

When we lose something, particularly something as big as our livelihood, we think we have lost everything. This can easily lead to inactivity and economic passivity. Hard economic times are nothing new. There were recessions in Bible times, and key characters in Scripture lost their jobs. What can we learn from them about what to keep when you lose your job?

1. Joseph—Keep perspective

You may not be blessing the person who fired you right now, but remember that God is sovereign. Joseph said to his siblings, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20

2. Samuel—Keep praying

He was an advisor to a king, the transition prophet who installed Saul. When Saul lost his job Samuel did not stop his. “Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you.” 1 Samuel 12:23

3. Elijah—Keep resting

Give yourself downtime between your last job and your next exploit. 1 Kings 17:3 “Leave here…and hide at the Kerith Ravine…I have ordered ravens to feed you there.” God had a recipe for Elijah—eat and sleep.

4. Elijah—Keep open

So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.” God may want to provide in a very different way, so don’t chase away God’s provision, even if ravens are not your favorite birds.

5. Shadrach, et al—Keep true

Stick by what you know is right, even if the reason for your lay-off was wrong. “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18

6. David—Keep community

You don’t always get to choose your community when you are out of work, but you can choose to be in community. “David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.” 1 Samuel 22:1, 2

7. Paul & Silas—Keep praising

The great church planter was in the slammer—that could interrupt a career. It reminds me of our of our rēp clients who was put in jail. After five months he told us, “Stop praying that I will get out prison—I now have a church of 340 people in prison.” In Acts 16:25 we read, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Keep singing.

8. Joseph—Keep working

The signature on his paycheck shifted from Potiphar to Prison Warden, but it did not stop Joseph’s work. He had favor, and eventually he was running the prison. “So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.” Genesis 39:22 God is not a big fan of self-pity or idleness. Find some work, even if you don’t get paid for it. Busy people get given jobs…use this time to serve, not to self-indulge.

9. Timothy—Keep hoping

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” Paul gave this advice to Timothy in 1 Tim 6:17. Hope…but hope in the right things.

10. Elijah—Keep moving

1 Kings 17:7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.” We need to know when to rest, and when to move. When God says ‘the move is on’ then be willing to move. Taking a new job might be exactly what he has in mind, even if it means moving to a new city.

I do not know which of these is harder for you—trusting for finances, staying positive, working even when there is no paycheck, staying true to your God and your calling, keeping connected even when you don’t feel worthy of community…each of us is different. We do know, however, that unemployed people should not be idle. This lengthy quote from the working person’s epistle sums it up.

Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22

“You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14:14

Who wins when I ask for big things? I have thought it was me, of course. Recently, however, I have been seeing a different dynamic at work when looking at three passages that follow each other in the book of John. When you see them together it will blow the punch line, but it is worth doing anyway:

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, … You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:12-14

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. John 15:7

Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. John 15:16

Three times in quick succession Jesus urges us, “Ask Big!” These are pretty astounding promises. With such a blank check in our hands, why don’t we ask for outrageous things more often? We could go into the normal list of things: we have a poverty mentality, we don’t think we are worthy, we do not have enough faith, we are not the original 12, we have not even raised the dead yet…how can we ask for “anything”?

This misses the point. We are so narcissistic that we think that answered prayer is about us—how we ask, when we ask, our posture, our level of faith, our insight into the mysteries of abiding, persevering, pressing in, whatever. Friend, it is neither about you nor me.

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:12-14

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:7-8

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. John 15:16

Now I see it. Now I ask big so that Jesus can get a big return on his investment. I ask big “so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” “Daddy, see what my brothers and sisters on earth are asking for! That’s because I went in obedience to your plan and did what you asked me to do. Now they are asking for “anything” – and we get to see it happen on earth. Let’s give it to them, with a little extra!”

The bigger we ask, the greater his reward, the more the glory. Go ahead, son or daughter, ask big. Give him the return his work on earth and his intercession today in heaven deserves.